Dig Into: Summer Reading Club Events

This year’s Summer Reading Club, “Dig Into Reading” features a wide variety of programs for children of all ages and their families. Many programs require registration, but not all. Check out the programs being offered and “Dig Into Reading” at The Library!

Dig into this interactive, hands-on “journey” to the center of the Earth. Begin your travels looking at the Earth’s crust to help determine the best starting point. Experiment with volcanoes and learn about pressure. Explore the deepest cave in South Africa and make instant ‘crystals’ as you learn about stalagmites and stalactites. As you dig deeper, you will discover tectonic plates and imagine the viscosity of liquid rock. Make ‘silly putty’ to feel how a substance can seem to be a solid, yet still flow very slowly. Then continue through the mantle, outer core and inner core with a chance to play with magnets and compare them to our very own large magnet, Earth. This program is funded by The Whitaker Fund for Science and Math, a special initiative of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities.

Field Paleontologist Mike and Roberta Straka will take you on a scientific exploration highlighting the world of dinosaurs, fossils and rocks/minerals. Each year the team explores the badlands of North and South Dakota excavating dinosaurs. This fun-filled show will cover the formation of fossils, herbivores vs. carnivores, basics of geology (rocks and minerals). The team will discuss their work as field paleontologist and background in geology. The presentation will feature Mr. Nixon, an eight foot Triceratops skull they discovered in 1996. An Albertosaurus skull will highlight the features of a carnivore. Original music, songs, show & tell with rare fossils, a touch of magic, a puppet and the “Dinosaur Game Show” will round out the program.

Bring your family, relax and enjoy a movie together! Drinks and snacks are provided at these free family friendly features. All movies are rated PG. Recommended for children ages 6 and up. No registration required. Selections include: Spiderwick Chronicles, Odd Life of Timothy Green, Fairy Tale: A True Story and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Have you ever found a fossil? In this exciting, hands-on program kids will learn about what fossils are, and see many examples up close. Then kids can grab a trowel and fossil screen to sift for their own real fossils to take home.

We’ve dug up this program just for our smallest friends! Stories, songs, art and creative play will help your little one explore the world around them. There will be programs on construction, dinosaurs and gardening.

Join certified therapy dogs and read for fun. This special program encourages reluctant readers to read to the easiest, most willing audience – a dog. Each child will have an opportunity to read to the dog for about 15 minutes. Registration for this program is by appointment. Please contact Jeffrey Swope, Youth Services Programming & Outreach Coordinator at 566-0949 ext 218 to reserve your spot.

This award-winning program is back for the 8th summer. Come to The Library and be introduced to stories, music and activities to dig deep into your imagination. Talented teens will star as reading role-models and perform a crowd-pleasing Readers Theater skit.

What is Reader’s Theater? Open to everyone ages 11-18, it’s a play where you act out a role, but you read your part from a script so you don’t need to memorize any lines. Training and rehearsal is required for all volunteers. Then you get to be a reading role-model as you put on a special performance for a preschool audience.

You can't sleep over at The Library, but your favorite stuffed animal can! Bring your stuffed animal (just one please) to The Library the day before this program. Come back the next day to pick up your furry, feathered or scaled friend. You will share a Storytime, see a slide show of what your favorite friend was up to overnight and enjoy a snack. You will also make a special gift just for your stuffed friend. Wait until you see what your friend was up to during their night at The Library!

Join in the summer reading fun with this program that delves into the world of the underground. This exciting program is full of fun activities, crafts and more that explore how to Dig Deep this summer!

Discover a world of animals that make their homes in hidden places – in burrows and caves and tucked into crevices. Featuring snakes, spiders, birds and beasts this program will leave you wondering what's living hidden in the world around you.

Join us for this special end of summer reading fun festival to celebrate the end of summer reading. This special event is just for our readers. There are two different ways to earn your way in. First – children who complete the reading program and earn their certificate can use the certificate as their “pass” to get into the final festival. Or, children who complete their "Club Card" can use it as their “pass” to get into the final festival. There will be activities, food, games, face painting, balloon animals, special performers and so much more.